General Motors has agreed to include battery manufacturing plants in its overarching contract with the United Auto Workers, the union said, meeting a crucial demand for employees anxious over the industry’s shift to electric vehicles.
The announcement by UAW president Shawn Fain came as the union’s strike against GM, Ford and Stellantis entered its fourth week, hobbling operations at certain facilities owned by the three Detroit carmakers.
The UAW has been pushing for higher wages and other concessions in a new contract after a previous one expired last month. It has also sought to extend contract protections at the plants that will provide many of the batteries for a wave of EVs hitting the market in the next several years.